ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The No. 17 Haverford College men's soccer team raced out to a 5-0 advantage against Muhlenberg and looked to be well on its way to an easy victory. However, that 5-0 scoreline finished as a 5-4 result with the Fords (9-2-2, 6-0 CC) holding off the Mules (3-7-3, 1-4-1 CC) as the hosts scored four times in a span of 10 minutes during the second half.
Despite what appeared to be a comfortable margin, history has shown this to be a tough match up for the Fords as Haverford had not won on the road against Muhlenberg in 13 straight tries dating back to 1969 before tonight's result.
The 5-4 result marks the highest scoring contest between these two schools since Haverford won 9-1 behind a hat trick from Frederick Carson '64 during his senior season. Although there were no hat tricks on either side Saturday evening, the Fords did get the first career goal of senior defender Jaimon Olmsted's career. Scoring what appeared to be an insurance goal at the time, Olmsted's goal turned out to be the game-winning tally. Tejan Walcott, Ben Field, Matthew Clausen, and Nick Jannelli also scored for the Fords.
The Fords wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as Walcott finished a pass from Alex Clark in the ninth minute of play. Walcott's goal was his fourth of the season while Clark recorded his first career point on the play. Haverford took a 3-0 lead into the half on a pair of aerial goals. Field headed home a cross from Michael Carr in the 34th minute to record his fifth goal and Carr's seventh career assist. Just five minutes later, Clausen capped the first half scoring on a cross from Will Corkery.
Not resting on its 3-0 advantage, Haverford blitzed the Mules with a turnover and subsequent goal just 13 seconds into the second half. The goal came via a penalty kick taken by Jannelli for his team-leading seventh goal of the year. The final goal of the night also came on a set piece, but just further out as Olmsted finished off of passes from Dorian Wirz and Maclyn Willigan.
Haverford looked to have the game well under control until the Mules converted a penalty kick of their own in the 70th minute of play. That goal lifted the entire Muhlenberg team as the Mules went on to score in the 77th, 79th, and 83rd minutes. Muhlenberg also had a chance at tying the game in the final minute of regulation but a defensive save from Haverford's back line prevented any further damage.
Jeremy Astesano picked up the win as he made four saves in goal. John Kerber also saw just under 10 minutes of time in goal and made one save. Astesano improved to 2-0-1 with the victory.
Men's soccer will close the non-conference portion of its regular season this Tuesday with a 7 p.m. trip to Scranton. When the Fords return to conference action, a showdown with No. 6 Franklin & Marshall will await the team next Saturday in Lancaster, Pa.